Lifting-truck.



C. E. M. MILLER.

LlFTlNG TRUCK.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 3. 1914.

- 1,1 39,891 Patented May 18, 1915.

2 $HEETSSHEET I.

wilbwwoeo C. E. M. MILLER.

LlFTlNG TRUCK- APPLICATION FILED JULY 3. 1914.

1,189,891. Ifatented May18,1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- CARL E. M. MILLER, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

Murine-raven.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented May 18, 1915,

Application filed July 3, 1914. L Serial No. 848,729.

,To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CARL E. M. MILLnR, a citizen of the United'States, and a resident of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and. useful Improvement in Lifting-Trucks, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in lifting trucks of a class in which one portion of the truck is movable vertically with relation to the other portion, so that the truck canbe slid under its load, and the upper part raised so as to lift the load from the floor and render it readily. transportable. In trucks of this class the raising of the upper frame is usually effected by a lever or by a movement of the handle, but it has been found in the development of such trucks that it is very desirable to provide an easy means of manipulating the truck to raise its load, and that it is then very necessaryto leave the front wheels and the handle free so as to turn. readily. In carrying out this idea it has been the practice to provide a detachable connection between the movable top frame of the vehicle, and the handle, and to provide means for detaching this connection after the said frame has been raisedand fastened in place by some means. This means of detaching, however, has generally been operated independently of the handle, either by hand or by foot power, and it is a great inconvenience.

The object of my invention is to produce a simple connection between the movable top frame of a truck of this class and the handle, by which the handle can be used as a lever to raise the frame, and also to provide an automatically releasing connection so that by the mere manipulation of the handle, the connection between the handle and the movable top frame can be released or fastened as desired. With my improved apparatus the truck can be slipped under its load, the hair dle brought forward to raise the load, and then when the handle is in normal position to draw the truck about, it will automatically release itself from its connection with the movable frame so as to leave the forward wheels free to turn, and the connection between the handle and fra ne can be easily entirely disconnected so as .to provide the necessary freedom of movement.

Reference is to be had to'the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all the views. v

Figure 1 is a broken side elevation of a truck-showing my improvements, with the top frame in its lowest position. Fig. 2 is a similar view but with the top frame raised.

Fig. 3 is 'a broken front elevation of the truck. Fig. 4 is a broken side elevation of the front portion of the truck and showing a different position of the engaging hook from that disclosed in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. .5 is a broken side elevation similar to Fig. 4:, but showingthe position the handle and connected parts assume when the top frame is brought to its'most elevated position. Fig. 6 is a broken plan view of the front part of the truck, and Figs. 7 and 8 are details.

My invention relates principally to the means for. sliding and disconnecting the top frame. able frame 10 which is mounted in any convenient manner on rear wheels 11, and at its forward end the lower frame 10 has an upward and forward extension 12, the front partof which merges into the top plate 13 of the fifth wheel, to facilitate turning the front truck or wheels. Beneath the plate 13 is the bottom plate 14 of the fifth wheel, which has integral'depending side arms 15 from which extends the front axle 16, and this has suitable wheels 17 thereon. All this I have not shown with any great detail, be-

cause I do not here claim it.

The truck has a suitable top frame 18 The truck is provided with a suitwhich can be raised or lowered with refer- It will also be observed that as the parts 22 i and 25 project into the ways 19 and 23, the 4 frames 18 and 10 will be held in proper re lation, and the frame 18 cannot be lifted off or displaced. v

Near its front end the frame 18 has bosses 27 through the front upper portion of which extends across-bar 28 which can vbe'engaged by a hook 29, this being arranged so as to normally ride on the cross-bar 28. The hook 29 is split near its pivoted end asshown at 30 (see Fig. 6), and it is pivoted as shown at 31 to the link 32 which is in turn pivoted asshown at '33 in a bifurcated socket portion 34 of the handle 35. The part. 34 is in turn pivoted between the ears 36 which are integral with the plate 14 of the fifth wheel.

. The ears 36 haverearwardly extending arms pivoted the shank 39 of the pawl 40 (see.

Fig. 7), which rides on the top of the hook and which when the hook is level or nearly so, drops by gravity over the tooth 41' on the hub of the hook 29, and thus prevents the hook 42 from dropping in engagement with said tooth. The hook 42 is pivoted in the part 34 just above the link 32, and it is provided on its under side with projections .43 adapted to be brought into and out of registry with corresponding projections 44 on the link 32,-so that when the projections 43 and 44 are in registry, the hook will be held outof engagement with the tooth 41; but when the said projections are out of registry, the hook-is free to drop into engagement with the tooth.

Assuming the frame 18 to be in its lowest position as shown in Fig. 1, with the handle 35 raised. The device is pushed beneath its load, and then the handle 35 is brought forward to the position shown in Fig. '5. This causes the hook 29 to engage the bar 28 and pull the frame 18 forward, thus raising it as above described, and it is held in its raised position by a suitable mechanism which is not here shown, as it forms no part of this invention. .The handle can thenbe raised to the normal position for hauling the truck around, and the hook 29 will ride on the cross-bar 28 without interfering with the free movement of the truck; but if it is desired to give still greater freedom of a lateral movement, and to remove the hook 29 entirely away from the cross-bar 28, the handle can be raised until the hook 42 drops into engagement with the tooth 41, and then the handle is brought forward to the position shown in Fig. 4, thus raising the hook 29 and permitting the handle to turn sidewise or vertically with the utmost freedom, and in its side movement it will of course turn the plate 14 of the fifth wheel and serveto guide the truck. When it is desired to again place the hook 29 in engagement with the cross-bar 28, the handle is pushed back to the position shown in Fig.

2, thus carrying the hook 42 back of thepawl '40, and" then the handle can be brought 7 forward, when the "hook 42 will ride over,

the pawl will be held out of engagement with the tooth 41 by reason of the registering projections 43 and 44 on the hook 42 and link 32. When, however, the handle is pushed back for thepurpose of having the ,hook 42 engage the tooth 41 as hereinabove the pawl 45 (see Figs. 2 and 3), which is pivoted in one ofthe ears 36, and which can be tipped forward in front of the handle as in Fig. 3 to hold the handle in its raised position.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have devised a very simple means of connecting and disconnecting the handle with the movable top frame, and that no manipulation of any extraneous parts is necessary to effect the engagement or disengagement of the handle.

I claim v 1. In a truck of the kind described, the combination with the upper and lower frames, the upper frame being movable longitudinally and vertically with relation to the lower frame, of a vertically swinging handle connected to the front end of the truck, a cross-bar on the top frame, a hook riding on and engaging the crossbar, said hook having a link connection with the handle, a second hook pivoted to the handle and riding above the first hook, and means controlled from the handle for placing the second hook into or out of engagement with oted in the hook and adapted to drop betwelein the tooth and the aforesaid second hoo 3. The combination with the truck having a movable top frame, of a handle pivoted on'the front portion of the truck, a link piv'otally connected with the handle, a hook pivoted to the link and provided with a tooth near its hub, means on the top frame to' engage the hook, a second hook pivotally connectedwith the handle and adapted to engage the aforesaid tooth, i'neans on the means on the top frame to engage the hook,

a second hook pivoted to the handle and provided with projections riding on those of the link, and a pawl on the first hook 15 adapted to drop between the tooth of said hook and the second hook. I

CARL E. M. MILLER.

Witnesses:

WARREN B. HUTGHINSON, ARTHUR G. DANNELL. 

